Pocono Mountain Charter School nearly out of options as state board revokes charter

Wednesday

Jun 4, 2014 at 4:38 PMJun 4, 2014 at 6:30 PM

Jenna Ebersole

The Pocono Mountain School District's six-year battle with the Pocono Mountain Charter School may be at an end after victory for the district Tuesday in what could be the final step in the fraught process.

The state's Charter Appeal Board voted unanimously Tuesday to revoke the school's charter in its third vote over the school's fate over several years. The charter school could appeal once again but representatives have said that decision will wait until the appeal board issues its written decision on the vote.

District spokeswoman Wendy Frable said the board cited entanglement with the landlord, the Shawnee Tabernacle Church, in its vote Tuesday, but the full details will be part of the written decision.

The school's founder and former CEO, the Rev. Dennis Bloom, was also convicted last year of unrelated tax fraud charges and sentenced to prison time.

More than 300 students face a transition to a new school with the decision. The charter's court-appointed custodian, Alan Price Young, said this is a "very busy, stressful time" at the charter school.

"The PMCS priority is to complete the semester in a positive and effective manner, for the best interests of all students," he said by email Wednesday.

The district hailed the vote as the "right decision," Frable said.

"Our focus in the upcoming weeks will be to ensure a smooth transition for all of the charter school students for next school year," Frable said by email.

The fight, paid for on both sides by the taxpayer, has cost at least $920,000 since its start, according to a Pocono Record analysis last month.